From Andromeda To LMC

[Epick Crom]

Hi my fellow stargazers! What a night last night, I swept the sky from North to South, picking up lots of targets along the way. All observations carried out using my 10" reflector:

NGC 404 (Andromeda). Started off in the north. After getting Mirach in the centre of the field, I observed intently, sometimes removing Mirach out of the FOV. After approx 10 min I spotted NGC 404 glowing faintly. A nice catch.

NGC 752(Andromeda): Nice wide open cluster. My best view of this object came at 48x.

NGC 772 (Aries): This was a tough one. Exceedingly faint galaxy from my light polluted site. Averted vision only for this one!

Hyades (Taurus): Famous open cluster in Taurus. Spotted asteroid umm.. minor planet Ceres on its outskirts as a bonus.

M42 (Orion): My first view of the mighty Orion Nebula this season. Words don't do it justice. One of the most splendid objects in the sky.

NGC 1672 (Dorado): Fairly bright barred spiral galaxy in Dorado. Showed hints of mottling at 200x. Nice galaxy.

NGC 104 (Tucana): The glorious 47 Tucanae. This globular is absolutely stunning. Bright and well resolved, a brilliant ball of countless stars. Breathtaking!

I completed my nights observations by diving deep into the Large Magellanic Cloud. This is an intoxicating experience as there are just too many objects to see! Nebulae, open clusters and globulars by the dozen. In fact even Sky Safari has trouble listing all the objects. I soon could not keep track or identify what was what so I just enjoyed the experience. Mind blowing!

A thoroughly enjoyable session. Can't wait to do it all again tonight! Thanks for reading and clear skies to you all.

Joe

 

[Grant93]

Is this a post to tease us Northern Hemispherers about the LMC?? 😢 Maybe one day I'll make the trip to see the Magellanic Clouds! 😆

Good report, sounds fun!

[callisto]

Great report, thanks for sharing with everyone 

 

Mark

[Epick Crom]

6 minutes ago, Grant93 said:

Is this a post to tease us Northern Hemispherers about the LMC?? 😢 Maybe one day I'll make the trip to see the Magellanic Clouds! 😆

Good report, sounds fun!

Thanks Grant😁. There are also a lot of sights us southerners yearn to see too, like M 51 and the Double Cluster 😭

[Epick Crom]

11 minutes ago, callisto said:

Great report, thanks for sharing with everyone 

 

Mark

You're welcome Mark👍. Thanks and clear skies

[John]

Excellent report !

Messier 42: "Words don't do it justice. One of the most splendid objects in the sky." Very much agree and it's one we can share too !

LMC:  I found this fascinating when in Australia back in 2018 and I only had 8x56 binoculars with me then. I'd love to explore it with a scope !

I did manage to see 47 Toucanae as well - clear days but annoyingly cloudy night skies during the 20+ days we were down under - just a couple of clear nights 

Must come again, when it's possible to do so

 

[Epick Crom]

12 minutes ago, John said:

Excellent report !

Messier 42: "Words don't do it justice. One of the most splendid objects in the sky." Very much agree and it's one we can share too !

LMC:  I found this fascinating when in Australia back in 2018 and I only had 8x56 binoculars with me then. I'd love to explore it with a scope !

I did manage to see 47 Toucanae as well - clear days but annoyingly cloudy night skies during the 20+ days we were down under - just a couple of clear nights 

Must come again, when it's possible to do so

 

Thanks John.  Which part of Australia did you go? The east coast is notoriously rainy and humid. Here in Western Australia it's perfect for stargazing, in summer virtually every night is clear!

[John]

15 minutes ago, Epick Crom said:

Thanks John.  Which part of Australia did you go? The east coast is notoriously rainy and humid. Here in Western Australia it's perfect for stargazing, in summer virtually every night is clear!

We toured the eastern side from Melbourne up as far as Cairns then across to the centre, down to Adelaide (on the Ghan !) and spent the final week in and around Syndey with my wife's relatives. I have a cousin who lives in Perth but we felt it would be too much to try and visit the west as well so that is for a future trip.

Had a great time - it's a wonderful country

 

 

[JeremyS]

I’m a Sandgroper by inclination, having spent time around Perth, Margaret River, Cape Leeuwin general , and up to Monkey Mia. And I have some of the best views ever. In fact the first time I saw the zodiacal light was near Shark Bay.

[Epick Crom]

Thats great John. Yeah Perth is actually the most isolated city in the world, we are far from everything! I would also love to visit England one day, I've never been north of the equator. Glad you enjoyed your stay in our country and hope you can come back soon when it's possible. Clear skies mate!

[Epick Crom]

3 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

I’m a Sandgroper by inclination, having spent time around Perth, Margaret River, Cape Leeuwin general , and up to Monkey Mia. And I have some of the best views ever. In fact the first time I saw the zodiacal light was near Shark Bay.

Hi Jeremy, good to hear you are a Sandgroper too! 😊. Yes Shark Bay is beautiful, and far less light pollution than Perth. The skies are amazing there! 

[Kon]

Great report and what a session Joe! The LMC must be amazing for visual observation! M42 is always a winner and I find the more I observe it the more features do pop up between sessions if seeing is good. It used to be my go-to when I was a total novice and I could hardly find other DSOs.  I think you should venture on a darker sky. If you see all these things from light polluted city, you will be for a treat.

[Epick Crom]

Hi Kostas and thanks. Yes I'm planning to travel to darker skies soon. I'll keep you posted. Cheers mate!

[Captain Scarlet]

Great report. Reading about your and others’ views of the LMC and 47 Tuc etc is almost unbearable. But I can relate to those who’ve never properly seen some of our objects, M31 and 42 in particular.

And what’s a Sandgroper? Sounds rude 🙂

M

[Voyager 3]

"Sandgroper, nickname for an inhabitant or native of Western Australia."

 

[Epick Crom]

On 06/12/2021 at 07:58, Captain Magenta said:

Great report. Reading about your and others’ views of the LMC and 47 Tuc etc is almost unbearable. But I can relate to those who’ve never properly seen some of our objects, M31 and 42 in particular.

And what’s a Sandgroper? Sounds rude 🙂

M

😂😂

[Epick Crom]

On 06/12/2021 at 13:11, Voyager 3 said:

"Sandgroper, nickname for an inhabitant or native of Western Australia."

 

You got it spot on👍